Nighty Night

For want of a better title. :)

First overnight shift at the new place, and still getting the hang of things. Am grateful for consultant cover and a team of excellent MOs ( one of whom's actually a newly minted A&E registrar doing an MO rotation ). However, this computer thing gives me a massive headache, argh!

Constant trickle of P3 cases with the occasional spurt of resuscitations. One middle-aged fellow suffered a heart attack after a virgin dose of "the blue pill". Ahem.

Crossing my fingers that it will remain quiet and manageable till 8am. Didn't get any sleep this afternoon 'cos I was feeling quite stressed, but think it'll pass after the first week or so.

Since I have some down-time and need to stay awake, here's...


Waxing Lyrical - Part 2

This other fellow is a real gem. For personal reasons, I prefer to identify him as M.

Among all the European dudes I met on this trip, I spent the most time with M and got to know him rather well. He's older, but never married and has no children.

Blonde and brown-eyed, around 6 feet tall, very slim, with a preference for attire similar to what Pablo wore ( short-sleeved shirts and pants ), but in various pastel colours.

k, you hit the nail right on the head with your comment about European men knowing exactly how to "appreciate women". It isn't about hand-kissing or holding open doors, and definitely not about simple flattery ( that would imply insincerity ).

With M, you could tell that everything came naturally, no doubt the result of good upbringing and deeply ingrained European culture.

He didn't just zoom in on younger women, but treated all females -- regardless of age and physical appearance -- the same. After a while, however, I did notice that he held my hand longer than necessary compared to the rest, p value <0.05 ( haha ).

I loved our conversations for a number of reasons. One, he has a lovely Austrian accent. Two, he's extremely soft-spoken and well-mannered. Three, he's also a bit of a flirt, heh heh. Four, he never once asked about my personal life until I asked him first. Then the pace really picked up from there! Five, somewhere along the way, he started to look at me differently, and I really enjoyed it.

Last but not least, there's nothing quite as uplifting as basking in the radiance of good ol' European charm. And boy, did M have tonnes of it!

( By the way, k, M isn't in the pictures you downloaded. Someone else took a photo for us and hasn't emailed it over yet. :))

Guess I have to remain vague to preserve my privacy and retain some ownership of those memories.

But thank you, M, for making me less of a cynic and stirring up whatever remnants of optimism I have buried deep within. ( It's still there! I can't freaking believe it! )

Perhaps we'll meet again someday. But if not, I wish you well, and hope you'll find the happiness you seek.


Waxing Lyrical - Part 3

Might as well finish up so the next entry can deal with the trip proper.

Cute European dude #1

( In keeping with k's definition of "cute", this one definitely fulfills all criteria! But no photo! *&^%$#@ )

Blonde and blue-eyed. Young, probably early 20s or less. EXTREMELY GOOD-LOOKING, GAHHHH. Manned the guest services desk at our hotel in Zurich. Handled our tram tickets to the city centre and helped with the initial map-reading. Thought I was imagining his over-friendliness, but my mom independently confirmed it ( she was standing right next to me during the whole episode ).

His fellow colleague's about the same age, but brunette. Also very handsome. Strolling through the lobby has never been more fun. :)

Cute European dude #2

Met him in a quaint hotel restaurant at a beautiful lake resort town en route to Innsbruck. Early 20s, bespectacled and brown-haired waiter who seemed bemused by the presence of 2 Chinese women at his table. Guaranteed to win Employee Of The Month awards if he ever works in Singapore. Very sweet fellow.

Cute European dudes #3 & #4

One of the main reasons returning to Singapore proved so annoying.

Encountered these two in Zurich's city centre. My mom and I were running around on our own, map in hand, and happened to step off the curb a few metres before the next zebra crossing. We only spotted the oncoming car after setting foot on the road, so we came to a dead halt, expecting the drivers to either horn in irritation or zoom right past.

Instead, the vehicle eased into a gentle stop, implying that we could cross even though it wasn't our right of way. We turned to wave thank you, and were very pleasantly surprised to see 2 young men smiling back at us.

Throughout this holiday, we couldn't help noticing that drivers rarely, if ever, honk their horns. In fact, when we arrived at one particularly small town where the boardwalk doubles as a road, our coach came within inches of a woman standing in the middle of the "street" before stopping just behind her. She remained oblivious until another pedestrian told her to step aside. And our coach driver never once horned or swore or made any rude gestures. He just leaned on his steering wheel, patiently waiting for her to acknowledge our presence.

Now there's something worth admiring -- and emulating! ( I've been exercising greater restraint when driving since returning home. :))

Other cute European dudes

There were many more, from salespersons to musicians to tram operators and cooks ( a bunch of young ones in Lucerne grinned at me all the way from the kitchen ) -- the list goes on and on and on. Impeccable manners, respectful and accomodating to a fault, always with an amused smile on their faces, probably because my mom and I were often the only Asians seen for miles around.

There's a reason for all thoses mixed marriages after all. :D

3 more hours to go. Woohoo!